Court upholds lawyer bankruptcy advice law
Bankruptcy
The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld part of the U.S. bankruptcy law that bars attorneys from advising clients to take on more debt while considering a bankruptcy filing.
The opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor reverses a ruling by a U.S. appeals court that a provision of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was unconstitutionally broad and violated free-speech rights.
The provision prohibits bankruptcy professionals like attorneys from advising their clients to incur more debt, such as mortgages or student loans, before filing for creditor protection.
The ruling is a victory for the U.S. Justice Department, which defended the provision. It said Congress adopted the law fight abuse of the bankruptcy system encouraged by lawyers.
Department attorneys also argued that the law can be interpreted narrowly to prohibit only advice that a client take new debt with the intent of abusing the bankruptcy system. Sotomayor agreed with that interpretation.
The Minneapolis-based bankruptcy law firm Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz PA, two of its attorneys and two prospective clients sued in 2007, saying the law violated constitutional free-speech rights under the First Amendment.
A U.S. appeals court based in St. Louis agreed, ruling that the law prevented lawyers from fulfilling their duty to clients to give them appropriate financial advice.
Related listings
-
Judge OKs Denver Post publisher's bankruptcy exit
Bankruptcy 03/05/2010A federal judge has approved Affiliated Media Inc's bankruptcy reorganization plan, clearing the way for the publisher of the Denver Post and San Jose Mercury News to emerge from Chapter 11 protection this month.Judge Kevin Carey of the U.S. Bankrupt...
-
Penton Media gets bankruptcy plan OK, to exit soon
Bankruptcy 03/05/2010Penton Business Media Holdings Inc, a publisher of 113 trade magazines such as Ward's AutoWorld, Restaurant Hospitality and National Hog Farmer, won court approval of its reorganization plan, and expects to emerge from bankruptcy within a few days.Ju...
-
Court OKs MediaNews parent’s Chapter 11 plan
Bankruptcy 03/04/2010A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Thursday approved the reorganization plan of the holding company of Denver’s MediaNews Group Inc., publisher of The Denver Post, the company said.Confirmation of the “pre-packaged” plan by Judge Kevin Carey of U.S. Bankr...
Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.